Anveena felt incredibly strange. Why had she blurted out those nonsensical words? What was the Sunwell? And what did it mean for the Sunwell to be "reborn"?
Strange—it was all so very strange. Just a moment ago, she had felt an inexplicable surge of emotion welling up from her heart—a feeling infinitely beautiful and holy, beyond the reach of words. It felt as if she had been liberated from some sort of shackle, freed from the constraint of a certain power. Now, she was truly herself.
"Something isn't right. Why did I suddenly feel that? Is it some kind of energy?" Anveena said, setting her flower basket down on the ground.
Come to think of it, her life was a bit peculiar. She only had memories going back one year. She lived with her parents in Tarren Mill, but oddly enough, there were no neighbors around their home. It was as if she and her parents had appeared out of thin air, though that didn't stop Anveena from living happily every day. Every moment felt like a joy, a pure indulgence in being alive.
Anveena looked up at the gold-and-blue pillar of light radiating in the distant sky. Her gaze gradually grew hazy, ignited by a fervent inner glow.
Suddenly, a loud dragon's roar echoed from the heavens. A massive dragon with scales the color of deep rubies appeared. He descended slowly to the ground before shifting into the form of a middle-aged High Elf man.
"Long time no see, Anveena. Do you still remember me?" Korialstrasz asked.
Korialstrasz was a Red Dragon, and Krasus was the name he used in his elven guise. As the youngest consort of Alexstrasza the Life-Binder, he was a rare magical prodigy among his kind and held a position of great significance within the Red Dragonflight.
A year ago, when Arthas led the Scourge to invade Quel'Thalas, killing the High Elven King and defiling the Sunwell, Prince Kael'thas had been forced to destroy the source of magic. However, the residual power had been found by the Red Dragons—specifically by Krasus.
He was the first to discover this energy, which had manifested from the essence of the Sunwell. Fearing it would be exploited by those with ill intent and become a threat to Azeroth, he secretly gathered the power. Later, he discovered that this clump of Sunwell essence had begun to develop a faint spark of life.
Using his own power—the life energy of the Red Dragonflight—he created a flesh-and-blood human girl named Anveena, gifted with emotions. To care for her, Krasus used his life force and magic to manifest two other humans to act as her father and mother.
The entire family was a manifestation of his energy; the difference was that the parents were pure constructs of magic and life, while Anveena herself contained the actual essence of the Sunwell.
Krasus had protected this essence carefully, pondering how to handle it. The essence had developed a self-awareness; she was now a complete living being, entirely different from her illusory parents. Krasus couldn't bring himself to kill this innocent child to return the essence to the elves, and he had even kept the truth hidden from the rest of the Red Dragonflight.
But today, a terrifyingly vast energy—a pure magical force—had erupted from the Sunwell. The font had been repaired and infused with a new power: the Holy Light. The magical well was reborn, and Anveena, once the vessel for the Sunwell's essence, had in a sense gained her freedom. Upon realizing this, Krasus had rushed to her side.
"I remember you. You're Krasus. A year ago, when my family and I were in danger, you saved us. So... are you an elf or a dragon?" Anveena asked, looking at the High Elf before her.
"You can call me Krasus; that is my elven name. My dragon name is Korialstrasz, though that one is a bit harder to remember," Krasus said. He stepped toward Anveena and stroked her golden hair with fatherly affection.
This girl was like a daughter he had created. He had worried about the fate of the Sunwell essence, but now, that problem had vanished. The human named Rhodes had repaired the Sunwell. The High Elves had regained their source of magic, stronger than ever before. Even here in Tarren Mill, one could feel the surging mana and the power of the Light.
"Mr. Krasus... I—I don't feel right. I feel very strange," Anveena said.
"I know, child. I know you have many questions. Before, I did it to protect you—to keep you from knowing certain things so you could live happily for as long as possible. That was all I could do," Krasus sighed.
"So... who am I, really?" Anveena asked.
"You are the Sunwell—or rather, the avatar of its essence. You have no memories of the past because you didn't exist before a year ago. Back then, you were on the Isle of Quel'Danas, lighting the way for the entire elven race. When disaster struck and the Sunwell was destroyed, your essence leaked out. I found you, turned you into what you are now, and gave you life." Krasus chose to reveal the truth of her origin.
"That... that's impossible! Sir, I have parents! How could I only be a year old?" Anveena stepped back in terror.
Krasus smiled gently and waved his hand. In the distance, Anveena's parents smiled and waved back to their daughter, then, before her astonished eyes, they dissolved into pure magical energy and vanished into the air.
"No! What did you do? My father... my mother... you killed them!"
"Calm down, child. I didn't hurt them. They never truly existed. They were constructs I shaped from magic and life energy. You felt they were flesh and blood, but they were merely my magic made manifest. They had no lives of their own. It has always been me looking after you," Krasus explained softly.
"So I have no parents... I'm just a shape made of energy. But I have flesh and blood! I cry, I laugh, I have worries and joys... I am the Sunwell?" Anveena covered her eyes. Everything finally made sense—why the world around her had always felt slightly "off." She was the essence of the Sunwell.
"You were, my child. But things are different now. I once thought your destiny was to eventually return to the well and become its essence once more. But today, everything changed. A human hero named Rhodes repaired the Sunwell using water from the Well of Eternity and a massive amount of Holy Light.
He has provided it with a new core of energy. The Sunwell is reborn. While you still share a connection to it, you are no longer its indispensable heart. You don't have to go back. You can live as a free, independent being. I didn't come with bad news today—I came with a gift. You are free, my child." Krasus patted her shoulder.
"So I don't have to turn back into the essence? I can stay human forever? Truly?" Anveena realized the weight of his words, her face lighting up with surprise. She was bright; she knew that returning to the well would mean the total dissolution of the free will she had worked so hard to gain.
"You can live as a human forever. And if you wish, I can teach you magic so you can master your own great power," Krasus offered. As the avatar of the Sunwell, Anveena possessed immense magical potential—perhaps even rivaling a Guardian—she simply didn't know how to use it. Before, Krasus hadn't taught her out of fear that she would refuse her "destiny" if she became too powerful. Now, that concern was gone.
"That sounds wonderful, Teacher Krasus. I want to learn from you," Anveena said, taking a deep breath and nodding.
"However, I must take you to Quel'Thalas first. I must explain your existence to the elves so you can live your life openly and with dignity," Krasus added. He could hide her when she was just a normal girl, but if she was to become a powerful mage, the elves had to be informed. To keep it a secret would be beneath him, and the Dragon Queen would surely reprimand him for it.
"No time to lose. I'll take you to see the Sunwell. As its former avatar, you have a unique bond with its new form." Krasus shifted back into his draconic shape. "Come, my disciple. I will take you to the Isle of Quel'Danas."